Outdoor Youth Summit and Festival in NYC June 19-20

A lot of talk and ideas about getting those gosh darn, video-playing, text-addicted kids outside and connected to nature comes from well-meaning (but decidedly older) adults. Well, here's an idea — hold the nation's largest Outdoor Youth Summit and Festival in New York City's Central Park and invite 500 youth delegates from each of the 50 states to set the agenda, lead the conversations, and identify solutions.

Try rock climbing, paddling, and more at Adventures NYC on Saturday, June 19. (Photo: NYC Department of Parks & Recreation)

This weekend, June 19-20, Outdoor Nation will convene the first-ever, youth-led national summit on the outdoors. The event starts Saturday, June 19, with the 6th annual Adventures NYC, a day of outdoor adventures, like rock climbing, paddling, biking, and bird watching, with music and more. It's free and open to the public, so head on over if you're in the area.

On Sunday, June 20, the 500 outdoor youth delegates will meet at the summit and share ideas, skills, and connections to help champion the outdoors for all Americans. Following the summit, participants will have the opportunity to apply for seed grants that will support their local projects in communities and on campuses.

Outdoor Nation is an organization dedicated to uniting youth as champions for the outdoors. Its more than 20 outdoor ambassadors include young adults whose accomplishments range from climbing the world's highest peaks and skiing to the poles, to being adaptive ski instructors for kids, champion telemark skiers, and leaders of trail crews and Girl Scout backpacking trips.

Read some of the ambassador bios on www.outdoornation.org, and you'll start to feel inspired, no matter your age. We'll highlight a few here over the next couple of days.